My Approach

So, if you’ve come this far you’d like to know a little more about how I work.

My goal from the very first wedding I photographed in 2007 has always been to document weddings unobtrusively, to create a series of beautiful images that capture not just the main events, but everything in-between. It’s the intangible, extraordinary and fleeting moments, the smallest things that you may not even notice that I’m relentlessly looking for.

If you’ve been searching for long, you’ll realise there’s certain genres of wedding photographer out there. Documentary wedding photographers, reportage, fine art, creative and so on. As my style and methods have developed over the past ten years, I’ve come to find I don’t exclusively conform to any of those genres. I think they all apply to some extent.

On the whole I take a mostly journalistic approach to a wedding, with the only exception being the couples portraits. Many of my couples are initially apprehensive about this, I mean how often are we followed around by a photographer in our day-to-day lives, surely it’s going to be weird or awkward, right!? That’s exactly why I don’t pose my couples portraits, only give very minimal direction, such as suggesting where to stand for the best light, or in which direction to take a quiet walk together.

This 20 minute session (no, I don’t take you away for hours) is likely the first moment you’ve had alone since saying ‘I do’, your reception will be a whirlwind, trust me! So I encourage my couples to just relax, enjoy a little peace and quiet, talk about which guest will have the most embarrassing dance moves, which one of you had a tear during the ceremony, or how worried you are about the impending best man’s speech. Maybe even practice your first dance while no one’s watching. By the time that’s done, I’ll already have some stunning images of you both.

I like to compose many of these images in a way that includes your surroundings, a wider more environmental portrait, which in turn helps you feel more comfortable being photographed from just a few steps further back. Or, in the case of this next image, a lot of steps further back…

I absolutely love the dance floor. Without a camera I’d be lost, my dance moves are horrendous, but it’s one of my favorite parts of a wedding to document. Let’s just say I’m not the kind of photographer to have my bags packed 5 minutes after the first dance. There’s so much scope for creativity and so many hilarious moments to capture.

The dance floor is also one of very few situations where you will see me using a flash. I can’t think of anything worse during the speeches, or *cringes* during the ceremony, to have a flash going off every few seconds. I use the available natural light whenever possible throughout the day, only moving to artificial light in the evening. This is done in a subtle and complimentary way to the lighting that’s already on the dance floor.

In Conclusion

I want my images to feel natural and genuine, and for my couples to have complete trust in my ability to creatively document their day in it’s entirety. I’m not there to turn your wedding day into a photo shoot, or to overly manipulate a situation or stage anything.

Simply put, I photograph weddings how I’d want my own to be photographed. Many of my couples are kind enough to leave me positive reviews, but it’s the ones that express how easy it was for them, how it was like being photographed by a close friend that stand out the most. I’m not only proud of the work I produce, but of the way I go about creating it.

If that sounds like the kind of experience you would like on your wedding day and would like to check my availability, just get in touch here